A Smith Bowman Abraham Bowman 12 YO Port Finished 2013

The Abram Smith Bowman Distillery in Fredericksburg, Virginia, originally a family business, and the home of Virginia Gentleman Bourbon since its founding in 1934, has been owned since 2003 by the Sazerac Company, which also owns the Buffalo Trace Distillery and the Barton/Tom Moore Distillery. The three Bowman-named Brands, Bowman Brothers Small Batch, John J. Bowman Single Barrel, and Abraham Bowman, have been on the market since late in 2011. The Abraham Bowman Bourbons are the top of the A. Smith Bowman product line. There have been four releases of Abraham Bowman Bourbon to date: 1)an 18 YO 69.3% ABV, distilled 18 Jan 1993, bottled 12 Sep 2011, 2) a 17 YO 73.75% ABV, distilled 14 Dec 1994, bottled 11 May 2012, 3)an 8 YO Port Finished 50% ABV, distilled 30 Apr 2004, bottled 6 Sep 2012, and 4)a 12 YO Port Finished 50% ABV, distilled 30 Mar 2001, bottled 17 Aug 2013. This review is of a freshly opened bottle

We all have our own likes and dislikes with respect to flavour profiles in whisk(e)y. Generally speaking I have found that for me the combination of wine flavours together with either rye or wheat grain flavours frequently clashes in a non-harmonious way. For this reason I am extremely skeptical of the use of any kind of wine finishing being used on bourbons. But each case is unique, and when it works, it works

Nose: strong, sharp, high-pitched Port flavours which are quite delicious, including raisins, raspberry jam, and sweet red grape skin; the wood contributes noticeable vanilla, confectioner's sugar, and a nice discreet natural caramel; rye baking spices? yes, they are in there too, blending in with the wine flavours. Excellent nose

Taste: beautiful rich translation of the nose flavours to the palate, with great strength and more sweetness than in the nose. This is lush, with a wonderful fruity/spicy thing going on

Finish: long, very rich; all the flavours persist

Balance: sweet and dry flavours are both strong in this release of Abraham Bowman Bourbon, but sit in an amazing balance to each other. What I love about this bourbon which I do not like about, say, Angel's Envy Port-Finished Bourbon, is that here the wine cask flavours are alive and vibrant. This whiskey is BRIGHT, and "bright" for me is one of the rarest and one of the most attractive characteristics which any whisk(e)y can have

Abraham Bowman 12 YO Port-Finished Bourbon is so drinkable that one could be tempted to go through a bottle quickly

All of the Bowman Bourbons are relatively undiscovered at this point. They are all quite good. When they become discovered I expect that they will disappear quickly when they hit the shelves

The Abraham Bowman releases are the A. Smith Bowman equivalent of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Whiskeys, and they are in the same quality class as are the BTAC whiskeys